Sport Clips Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Sport Clips franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2017), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Sport Clips discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it C.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Discloses gross sales only (avg $412K, median $386K for 1,105 stores) and company-owned store expense report showing 31% avg operating profit. Omits royalties from profit calc; excludes newer/lower-performing stores; no franchisee net income stated.
What a Sport Clips franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $59,500 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 6% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 5% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 11% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $189,300 – $354,500 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
Total weekly fees can reach ~14% of net sales plus fixed minimums; multiple layered fees.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Sport Clips system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 1,584 |
| Ceased operations | 2 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 0 |
| Transferred to new owners | 77 |
| Closure rate | 0.1% of outlets |
Only 3 ceased operations over 3 years; zero terminations; high transfer volume may mask exits.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2017. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is Sport Clips worth it? — how it compares to 47 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 11% of sales | steeper than 89% of hair, beauty & personal care franchises |
| Startup cost | from $189,300 | cheaper than most (median $347,050) |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade C | less honest than most of the category |
| Closure rate | 0.1% of outlets | about average |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 0 | fewer than most |
Benchmarked against every hair, beauty & personal care franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Sport Clips
The franchisor's framing: Discloses gross sales only (avg $412K, median $386K for 1,105 stores) and company-owned st… We reconstruct what an owner actually keeps, from their own FDD.
- Reconstructed owner P&L — net take-home after royalty, ad fund, rent, labor & debt
- Break-even timeline + cash-on-cash ROI
- Full fee stack + required-purchase markups
- Decoded real failure / closure rate
- How it ranks vs comparable franchises
- Validation-call playbook — the exact questions to ask
See a full sample report → · 30-day guarantee
Sport Clips franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Sport Clips franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $189,300–$354,500, including a $59,500 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Sport Clips franchise owners make?
- Discloses gross sales only (avg $412K, median $386K for 1,105 stores) and company-owned store expense report showing 31% avg operating profit. Omits royalties from profit calc; excludes newer/lower-performing stores; no franchisee net income stated. We grade this disclosure C for honesty.
- What are the Sport Clips franchise fees?
- Sport Clips's FDD discloses a $59,500 initial franchise fee, a 6% royalty on gross sales, a 5% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 11% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. Total weekly fees can reach ~14% of net sales plus fixed minimums; multiple layered fees.
- What is the Sport Clips franchise profit margin?
- Sport Clips does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: Discloses gross sales only (avg $412K, median $386K for 1,105 stores) and company-owned store expense report showing 31% avg operating profit. Omits royalties from profit calc; excludes newer/lower-performing stores; no franchisee net income stated. Recurring fees alone take about 11% of gross sales, before rent, labor, food or debt service. Margin has to be reconstructed from the disclosure, not read off it.
- What is the Sport Clips franchise failure rate?
- Only 3 ceased operations over 3 years; zero terminations; high transfer volume may mask exits.
- How many Sport Clips locations are there?
- Sport Clips's FDD reports 1,584 total outlets, with 2 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 77 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Sport Clips have complaints or lawsuits?
- Sport Clips discloses no material litigation in Item 3 of the filing we reviewed. That's a positive signal, though it covers only what the franchisor is required to report.
- Is a Sport Clips franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Sport Clips scores C on disclosure honesty, carries about 11% of sales in ongoing fees. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare Sport Clips to similar franchises
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Source: MN CARDS 2568-201703-02 (Clean FDD 2017). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Sport Clips or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.